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News from around the worldWed, 19 Dec 2018 07:17:08 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.1These child labourers created robot for farming activities, won best innovative prizehttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/these-child-labourers-created-robot-for-farming-activities-won-best-innovative-prize/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 07:17:08 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/these-child-labourers-created-robot-for-farming-activities-won-best-innovative-prize/The winning team posing with their teachers. A team of four teenage boys who do odd jobs to fund their education has created a robot which won the national award for the best innovative idea in the first-ever Avishkar make-a-thon held in Delhi last week. Hailing from a government school in Chhattisgarh, which did not ...]]>

The winning team posing with their teachers.

A team of four teenage boys who do odd jobs to fund their education has created a robot which won the national award for the best innovative idea in the first-ever Avishkar make-a-thon held in Delhi last week. Hailing from a government school in Chhattisgarh, which did not even had a computer two-years back, these teenagers’ created robot called Krishi Mitra (farmer’s friend) which is powered by solar panels. This robot can perform all farming activities from dispersing seeds, irrigation to supplement as a tractor.

Another innovative technology from the same school was ‘cow reliever’ which is a battery-run machine to aide ailing animals. Cow reliever secured second place in the senior category of the nation-wide competition.

“In our village, cows often catch foot diseases and it takes 5-8 people to tame the animal and provide medication. Due to the disease, their milk production also decreases causing economic loss to farmers,” said Prakash Nirmalkar, a 16-year-old student who worked on the project. “Our product works as a crane but much smaller and adaptable to Indian roads. It can lift a cow easily with remote control and can transport it too,” he adds.

The third innovation from the school also made it to the national finals but could not win a prize. It was a cycle which could power batteries and even charge appliances. Gaurav Mahto, a 15-year-old said, “Our village has power cuts of 6-7 hours a day in summers, if we could implement this at a larger scale it can even power fans. We can use huge batteries to save the energy so generated to be used later.”

(L to R) Students charging phone from electricity produced by cycle. The cow reliever prototype lifting a cow. Krishi Mitra prototype on display.

All the three teams were trained in the Atal Tinker Lab (ATL) established in the school two years back. “Our school had a huge drop-out ratio since most of the students are from low-income family background. Their parents are daily wagers and cannot afford their studies. But after we settled the lab and motivated students to create technology to solve problems in their vicinity, the students started to enrol back in the school,” said Dhananjay Pandey, mathematics teacher and head of the school-based ATL lab, government multipurpose higher secondary school.

At present, the lab has 56 active students working to realise ideas into prototypes. “We stay in the lab after school hours to work on students ideas but this makes the students skip work hours; so I also have to feed them evening meals to prevent drop-outs,” he adds. The lab in the government-run school works from 4 pm to 11 pm.

However, funding for individual projects still remains an issue. “Our project (cow-reliever) was acknowledged by the district administration, they had also expressed interest in buying a product developed on it but we currently do not have the funds to convert this prototype into a fully functional product,” said Prakash.

]]>‘Ouch!’ MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Mocks Michael Flynn’s Old ‘Lock Her Up’ Chantshttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/ouch-msnbcs-nicolle-wallace-mocks-michael-flynns-old-lock-her-up-chants/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:57:04 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/ouch-msnbcs-nicolle-wallace-mocks-michael-flynns-old-lock-her-up-chants/“Damn right!” Flynn exclaimed as the crowd chanted in footage replayed by Wallace on Tuesday. “Ouch!” Wallace said after the clip. “It’s the kind of irony that hits you like a ton of bricks.” See her full discussion of Flynn’s predicament with her panel of guests in the clip above. Source link]]>

“Damn right!” Flynn exclaimed as the crowd chanted in footage replayed by Wallace on Tuesday.

“Ouch!” Wallace said after the clip. “It’s the kind of irony that hits you like a ton of bricks.”

See her full discussion of Flynn’s predicament with her panel of guests in the clip above.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s federal drug regulator will on Wednesday seize samples of Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) baby powder for testing, local media said, following a Reuters report that the company knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos lurked in the product.

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby powder line a drugstore shelf in New York October 15, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

The Times of India quoted an official source as saying that a team of 100 drug inspectors had been assigned to examine different manufacturing facilities, wholesalers and distributors, starting early Wednesday.

“Samples of all brands of the powder will be collected and sent for testing,” the unnamed official told the paper.

The Mint business daily also quoted an unnamed official as saying that the drug inspectors would visit J&J’s manufacturing operations and draw samples for further investigation.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) said the Reuters report was “under consideration” but that it was too early to say if a formal investigation would be launched into the baby powder that is ubiquitous in many Indian homes, a potential market of 1.3 billion people.

The CDSCO spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

An Indian health ministry spokeswoman declined to comment.

J&J in India did not have any immediate comment on the reports of sample seizures by Indian authorities.

On Tuesday the company said in a statement that the Reuters article, which was published on Friday, “is one-sided, false and inflammatory”.

“Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder is safe and asbestos free,” it added. “Studies of more than 100,000 men and women show that talc does not cause cancer or asbestos-related disease. Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world’s leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos,” the company said.

A Reuters examination of many company memos, internal reports and other confidential documents, as well as deposition and trial testimony, showed that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.

The documents also depicted successful efforts to influence U.S. regulators’ plans to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc products and scientific research on the health effects of talc.

J&J said on Monday it planned to buy back up to $5 billion of its stock, after the Reuters report wiped about $40 billion from its market value.

]]>New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: Rain forces draw in 1st Testhttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/new-zealand-vs-sri-lanka-rain-forces-draw-in-1st-test/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:24:49 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/new-zealand-vs-sri-lanka-rain-forces-draw-in-1st-test/Sri Lankan players applaud their teammates batsmen Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews from the field as rain stops play. (Source: AP) Rain rewarded the persistence and determination of batsmen Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews, washing out most of the final day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Wednesday to ...]]>

Rain rewarded the persistence and determination of batsmen Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews, washing out most of the final day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Wednesday to allow Sri Lanka to claim a well-earned draw. After batting through all of the fourth day in a historic partnership in which both made centuries, Mendis and Mathews survived just under an hour _ all the rain allowed Wednesday _ to ensure the two-Test series remains level ahead of the second Test at Christchurch from Dec. 26.

Mendis and Mathews came together near stumps on the third day when Sri Lanka was 13-3 in its second innings after trailing by 296 on the first innings in which New Zealand made 578 in reply to its 282. They were still together more than a day later when heavy rain forced the abandonment of play on the final day. Sri Lanka’s third wicket had fallen in the seventh over and at the close of play Mendis and Mathews had just faced the 115th over of Sri Lanka’s innings.

Mendis was 141 not out, Mathews was 121 not out and the pair had put on 274 runs _ the best for the fourth wicket by a Sri Lanka pair against New Zealand _ to leave Sri Lanka only nine runs short of making New Zealand bat again.

On their way to a match-saving partnership, Mendis and Mathew became the first batsmen to bat throughout a full day of a Test in New Zealand without a wicket to fall, and the first to do so anywhere in the world in almost a decade.

Their innings and partnership came at significant moments in both careers. Mendis made an outstanding beginning in his Test career with scores of 176 against Australia, 194 and 196 against Bangladesh and 102 against the West Indies within his first 25 Tests.

But he had only two half centuries in his next 15 innings and, while his talent was never doubted, there had been questions over whether he could prosper in Tests on raw talent alone. He answered that question resoundingly at the Basin Reserve with an innings of patience, determination and pure technique.

Mendis said after the fourth day he took inspiration from Mathews who showed he was willing to be take the ball on his body rather than surrender his wicket.

“(Mathews) got hit twice on the body and he came up to me and told me `hit the ball somehow, even if it has to be with your body’. When I saw him playing like that, I also thought `there’s no way I’m giving away my wicket’.”

When rain stopped play Wednesday, Mathews had batted 7-1/2 hours and Mendis eight minutes more to change the course of the Test.

“We showed a lot of character throughout the five days,” Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal said. “It’s not an easy task when the opposition get a lead of almost 300.

“(Mathews) has done really well in the last four or five five-day games. He’s an experienced player and every time he goes to bat we want some runs from him. He and Kusal Mendis were outstanding.”

New Zealand was frustrated that rain ruined their push for a 1-0 series lead Wednesday.

“The forecast wasn’t too good,” captain Kane Williamson said. “It would have been nice to pick up two or three wickets yesterday but it wasn’t to be. Sri Lanka played very well and showed the character we know they have.”

]]>Jarrett Allen blocks LeBron James’s dunk attempthttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/jarrett-allen-blocks-lebron-jamess-dunk-attempt/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:20:24 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/jarrett-allen-blocks-lebron-jamess-dunk-attempt/NEW YORK — When Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen decided to contest a dunk attempt by LeBron James on Tuesday night, he knew he would end up on social media. “If you go up and you block it, you’re going to be on the highlight. You get dunked on, you’re going to be on the ...]]>

NEW YORK — When Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen decided to contest a dunk attempt by LeBron James on Tuesday night, he knew he would end up on social media.

“If you go up and you block it, you’re going to be on the highlight. You get dunked on, you’re going to be on the highlight. So just go up and protect the rim,” Allen said.

That approach led to a remarkable block on James in the first quarter of the Nets’ 115-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Allen met James above the rim in the second minute of the game, rejecting the attempt and putting himself on a short list of players to block one of James’ dunk tries.

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Jarrett Allen’s huge denial on LeBron James’ dunk attempt reminds us that James has only had 9 dunks blocked over his career.

Allen is only the eighth player to block the four-time MVP, who has been denied just nine times in 1,850 dunk attempts in his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“That’s a helluva list to be on. He’s an amazing player,” Allen, 22, said. “I got the chance to do it, so I’m on the list forever now.”

A look at the eight other times LeBron James has been blocked on dunk attempts during his NBA career:2004 — With CavsSuns’ Amar’e Stoudemire: 9:25 left in first quarter at Suns on Nov. 10,Suns’ Stoudemire: 1:09 left in third quarter vs. Suns on Dec. 12005 — With CavsPacers’ Jermaine O’Neal: 11:40 left in first quarter on Dec. 232012 — With HeatBobcats’ Gerald Henderson: 5:21 left in first quarter on Dec. 262014 — With HeatNets’ Mason Plumlee: 2 seconds left in fourth quarter on April 82016 — With CavsPacers’ Myles Turner: 4:30 left in fourth quarter on Feb. 1Pistons’ Andre Drummond: 3:34 left in 1st quarter on Nov. 182018 — With CavsWizards’ Kelly Oubre Jr.: 2:27 left in first quarter on April 5All the blocks: Video here

James offered his assessment.

“He’s in his 20s; I’m in my 30s,” James said. “It takes me a little longer to get warmed up. But that’s fine. I mean, you’re a shot-blocker. You should, you can, get a block. It happens. It’s probably all over social media, so, that’s cool.”

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said Allen’s block was a catalyst in the Nets’ win.

“I thought that got us going. I thought that got the crowd going,” Atkinson said.

“I thought he made a statement with that block.”

The Nets (14-18) won their sixth straight game — an NBA high this season — thanks to Allen’s rim protection, along with 22 points and a career-high 13 assists from ex-Laker D’Angelo Russell and a host of contributions from others.

]]>The Nets, Playing at Home, Wrestle the Spotlight From the Lakershttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/the-nets-playing-at-home-wrestle-the-spotlight-from-the-lakers/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:16:28 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/the-nets-playing-at-home-wrestle-the-spotlight-from-the-lakers/Russell issued a rebuttal Tuesday night when he made a critical 3-pointer with a little more than 22 seconds remaining to put the Nets ahead, 113-107. He finished with a team-high 22 points and tied his career high of 13 assists. “He hurt us,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “He’s a talented player, and we ...]]>

Russell issued a rebuttal Tuesday night when he made a critical 3-pointer with a little more than 22 seconds remaining to put the Nets ahead, 113-107. He finished with a team-high 22 points and tied his career high of 13 assists.

“He hurt us,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “He’s a talented player, and we know that. He had a big-time game tonight. That’s why this team has won six games in a row. They have a lot of different guys that can hurt you.”

Even unlikely ones like the journeyman Jared Dudley, who added 13 points off the bench.

“He’s that guy you play with at the park,” Nets Coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He’s got tattered sneakers; he’s like 42 years old. You want that guy when you go to the park. You want Jared Dudley on your team because the I.Q. is off the charts and he plays so hard. He’s been a pleasant surprise. We weren’t expecting this.”

The same might be said of the Nets. Less than two weeks ago, the team looked to be headed in the opposite direction, struggling with injuries and an eight-game losing streak. But an overtime victory against Toronto, the East’s top team, ignited the Nets’ run.

Atkinson said the difference was the team’s confidence and willingness to share the ball. “I think once it steamrolls, you start getting a couple then a couple more,” he said. “You can see the spirit on the bench.”

During momentum swings, and standout plays by James, it seemed as if it were a Lakers home game. Clearly, James was the main attraction.

An hour before tipoff, dozens of reporters stood in the middle of the Lakers’ locker room waiting for King James to hold court. It never happened. “LeBron doesn’t talk in the pregame,” a Los Angeles-based reporter said.

Singing, however, was not off the table. James turned up “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” by Puff Daddy and Mase and belted out the lyrics.

]]>Not Just Khashoggi: Reprisal Killings of Journalists Surged This Yearhttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/not-just-khashoggi-reprisal-killings-of-journalists-surged-this-year/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:03:52 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/not-just-khashoggi-reprisal-killings-of-journalists-surged-this-year/Reprisal killings of journalists because of their work nearly doubled in 2018, bringing the total number of journalists killed on the job to the highest point in three years, a press advocacy group reported on Wednesday. The October killing of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad in Turkey may have ...]]>

Reprisal killings of journalists because of their work nearly doubled in 2018, bringing the total number of journalists killed on the job to the highest point in three years, a press advocacy group reported on Wednesday.

The October killing of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad in Turkey may have been the most prominent case, but journalists were targeted for death all over the world this year — including in the United States, where a gunman killed five people in a Maryland newsroom.

At least 53 journalists were killed worldwide, according to a database compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based organization that keeps detailed records of deaths and imprisonments in the news profession.

Of those journalists, the database showed that at least 34 had been killed because of their work, compared with 18 in 2017. The database covered killings between Jan. 1 and Dec. 14.

More journalists were killed than in any year since 2015, when the total was 73, the database showed. At least 50 journalists were killed in 2016 and 47 in 2017.

The Committee to Protect Journalists monitors three categories of journalist deaths on the job: reprisal killings, deaths in combat or crossfire, and deaths on other hazardous assignments, such as riots.

The latest findings reinforced what press advocates have described as an increasingly dangerous and repressive climate for journalists nearly everywhere.

The findings were released a week after the group issued an annual tally of jailed journalists that showed at least 250 were behind bars in 2018 for the third consecutive year. The group said the jailings reflected an authoritarian response to critical news coverage that represented “the new normal.”

The increase in killings this year after two years of decline, combined with the data on jailings, amounts to “a profound global crisis in press freedom,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.

The group blamed the crisis partly on what it called a “lack of international leadership on journalists’ rights and safety,” pointing to the killing of Mr. Khashoggi as a prime example.

Mr. Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in self-imposed exile in the United States, was a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the kingdom, who has little or no tolerance for dissent.

The Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that the crown prince directed the Saudi operatives who killed and dismembered Mr. Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But the victim’s most ardent defender, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, is no supporter of a free press — his government has imprisoned more journalists than any other.

And while the United States historically has been a strong defender of press freedom, President Trump has not only disputed the C.I.A.’s conclusions blaming Prince Mohammed but has suggested that America’s strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia takes priority regardless.

“Essentially, Trump signaled that countries that do enough business with the United States are free to murder journalists without consequence,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Mr. Trump told reporters afterward that “journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.” But within days, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, the president “had resumed his characteristic attacks on the press.”

]]>IPL 2019 Auction: Manoj Tiwary questions ‘what went wrong’ after remaining unsoldhttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/ipl-2019-auction-manoj-tiwary-questions-what-went-wrong-after-remaining-unsold/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 04:59:28 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/ipl-2019-auction-manoj-tiwary-questions-what-went-wrong-after-remaining-unsold/Manoj Tiwary was part of Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL season. (Source: KXIP) Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary on Tuesday expressed his disappointment on Twitter after going unsold at the IPL Auction. The right-handed batsman shared images of his past records and trophies and questioned what he did wrong to not be considered for ...]]>

Manoj Tiwary was part of Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL season. (Source: KXIP)

Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary on Tuesday expressed his disappointment on Twitter after going unsold at the IPL Auction. The right-handed batsman shared images of his past records and trophies and questioned what he did wrong to not be considered for selection by any team.

In a tweet, Tiwary wrote, “Wondering wat (what-sic) went wrong on my part after getting Man of a match award wen (when-sic) I scored a hundred 4 (for-sic) my country and got dropped for the next 14 games on a (the-sic) trot ?? Looking at d (the-sic) awards which I received during 2017 IPL season, wondering wat (what-sic) went wrong???”

Wondering wat went wrong on my part after getting Man of a match award wen I scored a hundred 4 my country and got dropped for the next 14 games on a trot ?? Looking at d awards which I received during 2017 IPL season, wondering wat went wrong ??? pic.twitter.com/GNInUe0K3l

Tiwary on Wednesday further addressed the fans in which he thanked them for his support. He also added that those criticising him would know how he feels if they were in his shoes.

“Really appreciated the fact that U al have shown so much love nd care through ur replies to my last tweet. Still I cannot digest that fact that I won’t be part of IPL 2019 this coming season but I know that’s the reality in which I have to live now and move on from hereand keep focusing on the things which I can control,” he wrote.

“And to the ones who al have criticized me, I request you to first get into my shoe nd than start making such comments for me. The experiences which I have gone through I don’t think anyone has gone through it and I will open up about it later in my future for sure or may be earlier,” he added.

Tiwary, who played 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India, received the man of the match award for scoring 104 runs in an ODI against West Indies in Chennai in December 2011. In the 2017 IPL season, he played for Rising Pune Supergiants and was one of the key players responsible for taking the side to the final. In 15 matches, he had scored 324 runs at an average of 32.40 with a strike rate of 137.28.

But in IPL 2018, he played only 5 games for Kings XI Punjab after being bought for a price of Rs 1 crore. He scored only 47 runs with the bat in the limited opportunities he received and failed to hit the mark with his performance. The 33-year-old gathered more limelight for his bowling action in a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which he was seen stretching his arm wide before tossing the ball.

]]>It’s Showtime for Elon Musk’s Tunnel, With a Long Way to Gohttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/its-showtime-for-elon-musks-tunnel-with-a-long-way-to-go/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 04:45:28 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/its-showtime-for-elon-musks-tunnel-with-a-long-way-to-go/HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Fed up with Southern California vehicle snarls, Elon Musk set out to solve the persistent urban irritant: the traffic. But rather than build atop the highway system, where his Tesla cars travel, or in the sky, home to his SpaceX rockets, he sought an answer under his feet: tunnels. “I said, ‘What ...]]>

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Fed up with Southern California vehicle snarls, Elon Musk set out to solve the persistent urban irritant: the traffic. But rather than build atop the highway system, where his Tesla cars travel, or in the sky, home to his SpaceX rockets, he sought an answer under his feet: tunnels.

“I said, ‘What if we go down instead of up?’” Mr. Musk told Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles during a recent public discussion. “I’ve lived in L.A. now since 2002. Traffic has gone from bad to horrific back to bad.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Musk unveiled the first mile-long stretch of his underground vision of a transit system in this suburb of 90,000 people about 15 miles southwest of Los Angeles. It is the home of both SpaceX and his tunneling enterprise, called the Boring Company.

But the promotional event, which attracted hundreds of people who lined up to see the tunnel, fell short of earlier promises of a system that could transport up to 16 people at a time in electric-powered pods. Mr. Musk said he had abandoned that concept in favor of a system using more conventional passenger vehicles.

“So what we believe we have here is a real solution to the traffic problem we have on earth,” Mr. Musk told reporters. “It’s much more like an underground highway.”

The entrance to the tunnel sits across the street from the SpaceX headquarters and the Hawthorne Municipal Airport, next to a single-family residence and behind some storefront-style buildings.

Test rides on Tuesday featured Tesla Model X cars that were lowered on a circular panel to a lighted pathway several stories underground that is wide enough for a single vehicle. The concrete walls are painted white, with a single fluorescent bar on the ceiling that lights up blue or green throughout the tunnel’s length.

A pair of clamps attached to the Tesla’s front wheels keeps the car on the track as the vehicle moves under its own power. The company says speeds of 150 miles per hour will be possible, though the test run was far slower.

Until now, the company has used standard equipment, but it expects to roll out newly engineered tunneling technology as its efforts continue. Mr. Musk said about $10 million was spent on the first mile of the system, which took about a year to complete, largely because of hurdles with permits and licenses.

But costs are likely to rise. Subway tunneling elsewhere in the world can cost $1 billion a mile or more; Mr. Musk has said that figure must be reduced by a factor of 10 to make his system viable on a larger scale.

Even then, the Hawthorne tunnel is at best a proof of concept. To make such a system extensive enough to serve one of the world’s biggest metropolitan areas, with private funding, seems a herculean proposition.

The first hurdle may be to convince urban planners that it is a practical way of easing the traffic crush.

“I like technology,” James E. Moore, director of the transportation engineering program at the University of Southern California, said this week. “I admire Elon Musk. So I want to say, ‘Yes, this is a good idea,’ but I really can’t.”

Mr. Moore said solving traffic problems did not require building anything new. He said the more important consideration was how to better manage what we already have, “before we look up or down, before I look at either one.”

“We’ve never built our way out of congestion,” Mr. Moore said. “I think there are cheaper ways to provide better transportation for large numbers of people.” For example, Mr. Moore said managing highway traffic with tolls or other economic policies could help reduce congestion.

During his public conversation with Mr. Musk last month, Mr. Garcetti noted that many of “the folks who make tunnels” were skeptical of Mr. Musk’s plans, but he added: “This is much larger than a tunnel. You’re talking about a transportation system.”

The tunnel was first expected to be more of a mass-transit system, but that prospect seems gone with the decision not to use the 16-passenger pods.

The system that Mr. Musk proposes for Los Angeles, called a loop, is distinct from the transportation mode known as a hyperloop — something he and others are also developing. The hyperloop uses a vacuum to reduce friction to achieve speeds up to 600 m.p.h., while the loop does not require that technology because it is designed for slower speeds and shorter distances.

“The loop is a stepp toward hyperloop,” Mr. Musk said.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is also developing a hyperloop, called Virgin Hyperloop One. The venture has built a test track in the Nevada desert and is in talks to build a line connecting Kansas City and St. Louis.

Mr. Musk said his concepts had attracted significant attention from cities across the country, and he defended tunneling against criticism that it might be disruptive to neighborhoods — a concern already raised in the Los Angeles region.

The Boring Company is still determining what its fares will be but says they will be comparable to those in other mass transit systems, or cheaper. Mr. Musk said passengers not riding in their own cars might be transported in vehicles owned by the Boring Company for about $1 per ride.

“If it’s our capital, if it’s public capital, I wouldn’t do it,” Mr. Moore said of Mr. Musk’s loop project. “But he should feel free to risk all of the capital he can assemble.”

]]>Jarrett Allen Refuses to Be on LeBron’s Posterhttps://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/jarrett-allen-refuses-to-be-on-lebrons-poster/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 04:40:55 +0000https://www.geopost247.com/2018/12/jarrett-allen-refuses-to-be-on-lebrons-poster/Jarrett Allen is not scared of anyone on the basketball court. Not even LeBron James. On Tuesday, as the Nets hosted the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers, Allen proved it when James, a 6-foot-8, 270-pound bulldozer of a human being, drove into the lane and elevated toward the basket, just as he has done nearly 2,000 ...]]>

Jarrett Allen is not scared of anyone on the basketball court. Not even LeBron James.

On Tuesday, as the Nets hosted the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers, Allen proved it when James, a 6-foot-8, 270-pound bulldozer of a human being, drove into the lane and elevated toward the basket, just as he has done nearly 2,000 times in his 16-year career.

Allen, a few inches taller than James but about 30 pounds lighter, did not give way. He shifted into position, reached up with his right hand and got clean contact on the ball, sending it off the backboard as he crashed to the floor after the collision.

James pleaded for a foul, but no call came. The lane, in that moment, belonged to Allen, and the game, on that night, belonged to the Nets, who went on to win, 115-110.

After the game, Allen said he could not even understand trying to contest dunks with any sort of fear.

“It was my quote growing up: ‘Either way, you’re going to be on the highlight,’” Allen, a second-year center, said. “So just go up and protect the rim.”

The reaction to the block was swift online — much of it focusing on the rarity of seeing James fail at one of the things he does best. By the calculations of ESPN Stats & Information, it was the 1,850th dunk attempt of James’s career, and just the ninth time one had been blocked.

When a reporter relayed that statistic to Allen, the young center initially mouthed, “Wow.”

He added: “I’m on the list forever now.”

It might be surprising to some that Allen, playing in just the 102nd game of his career, would be on that list. But it wouldn’t shock Blake Griffin, himself an all-time great dunker who found himself in the same position as James earlier this year.

But when it comes to blocks on James, how does Allen’s rate against some of the other fortunate rejections over the years?

But none of those, not even Allen’s, could compare to the one pulled off by Mason Plumlee in 2014, when he was a rookie with the Nets. That one, once you consider the context of the game, and the offensive player involved, could easily be described as one of the most significant blocks in regular season history.

It was April 8, 2014, and the Nets and James’s Miami Heat were in the final seconds of a close battle, with the Nets up by 88-87. Ray Allen, trapped by two defenders under the rim, passed backward to James, who came surging toward the hoop.

Meeting him there was Plumlee, a 24-year-old out of Duke playing in the 66th game of his pro career.

Plumlee leapt in front of James, and, while he did not get hard contact on the ball, he redirected it enough to send it off the backboard and into the arms of a teammate as time expired, with James arguing with referees while Plumlee openly celebrated on the court.

Even Plumlee’s coach, Jason Kidd, was shocked by the play, and struggled to give his player credit for pulling it off.

“That’s just basketball,” Kidd told reporters. “You have the best player in the world going against a rookie and we got lucky.”

But Plumlee, like Allen, took the play mostly in stride, and made it clear that he had no plans to alter his style in the future.

“It’s winning time, so it doesn’t matter — Dwight, LeBron, whoever — they’re coming at you, you just have to meet them at the rim,” Plumlee said, referring to Dwight Howard, then of the Houston Rockets. “I’m sure I’m going to play a long time, and there will be times I get dunked on. But they’re going to have to go through me or over me.”

It’s a sentiment that Allen clearly shares, and one that opponents will have to be aware of as the Nets, who have won six straight, continue to emerge as a team to be reckoned with.